A Night for a Dragon and Pony
by Overandout13
Summary: Spike, frightened, isolates himself into books for answers. Twilight just wants to help. A rainy night brings these two closer then they've been in . . . well, years. What follows is denial, acceptance, fear, and happiness.
1. A Night for a Dragon and Pony

**A Night for a Dragon and Pony**

**One-shot based off the "Friendship is Magic" series created by Lauren Faust, I own no characters or settings. **

**Before I start, understand that I do not know whether dragons have to leave Equestria when they reach adulthood. From the episode "Dragonshy" Applejack had asked 'what in the name of all things cinnamon swirled is a full-grown dragon doing here in Equestria?' This line sparked the idea, as did a series of pictures that had me in tears . . . manly epic tears of action . . . or something. **

**Regardless enjoy the story.**

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><p>The green and purple scaled dragon sits on the middle step of the library stairway, struggling to catch his breath from the continuous running that got him there. He's staring at his claws in disbelief, as if he has never seen them before today, which in a small way is true. They're longer and sharper than he remembers and the green shade of color at the tips are certainly new; it makes him wonder what else is new. Jumping off the stairs and onto the wooden floor, he slowly approaches the mirror against the West wall, terrified of what he may see. It really isn't that bad though, the only things immediately noticeable are the curved spines on top of his head being more pointed and his fangs being sharper.<p>

This was his worst nightmare, turning into some horrible monster; actually it was nightmare number two. The first nightmare is being alone, with no friends to keep him company. There were plenty of rational reasons for these fears, like how there were few full-grown dragons in Equestria, one of whom tried to fry him over a simple cave misunderstanding. While he was busy chasing Angel when the ponies traveled up the mountain to wake a dragon from a hundred year nap, Rainbow Dash had made sure to brag about the entire thing including an unflattering description of what he'll most likely become by Fluttershy herself.

_Huge, gigantic, terrifying, enormous, teeth-gnashing, sharp-scale-having, horn-wearing, smoke-snoring, could eat a pony in one bite, totally all grown up dragon._

Spike had vowed to never become that, but he never could erase the possibility from his mind. It was nature versus nurture in every sense of the word. If only there was some way he could research dragons and learn more about them as well as himself. It strikes him now that he lives in a library and just maybe a book could actually have the answers he was looking for. This level of the library held books focusing entirely on magic, so there's no need to search through them, at least not for the moment.

The second level had books on various creatures and their history with Equestria; he'd start there and not stop until he had at least one piece of useful information. A ruby shard from the kitchen calmed him ever so slightly as he savored its taste, finding comfort in the familiar territory of eating gems. _What if gems won't be enough someday? _The thought pops into his aching mind as he walks up the stairs, adding more incentive to study. Spike's aware that Twilight isn't far behind; he's surprised to have reached the home before she did, after-all four hoofs were better than two small . . . well there's another thing he can throw on the list of changes, he's taller. The ruby shard snaps in half from the pressure of his clenched teeth.

Twilight – as Spike had correctly predicted – stands outside the tree, concerned over how her assistant is reacting to the little incident with Rainbow Dash. A small, accidental scratch and he runs home, absolutely hating himself for some dramatic reason. On a slight brightside she had at least gotten home before the storm, obviously she had Dash and the fellow pegasui to thank for that. She gently pushes the door open with one of her front hooves, certain that somewhere in this library there's a guilt-ridden dragon who hates himself. She's surprised to see that the stairs at the end of the room are barren; it's always where Spike goes when he's upset, funny since they offer absolutely no privacy for sulking.

"Spike!" She calls, hoping that – as usual – he'd come hopping down the stairs to offer his assistance in whatever way he could. He doesn't though, which is expected. She closes the door, kicking it gently with her hind leg. "Spike!" She continues to yell, approaching the stairs. A large bang of thunder outside signals that everypony has five minutes to reach their homes before the storm starts. Adding to her previously mentioned surprise, she finds Spike hunched over a book when she reaches the second level, twisting his tail between his hands. Beside him is a rather large pile of other books, all focused on dragons and the parts they've played in history, they easily surpass him in height. "Spike, are you okay?" She asked, tone full of concern.

No reply.

"Don't worry about Rainbow Dash, she's not mad." Twilight explains, referring to the incident that started this whole mess. "She says the scratches actually look pretty cool." It's a bad attempt at making him laugh, one that proves unsuccessful. She approaches him, wondering why in all of Equestria he was behaving so uncommonly. It's odd when she sees the look in his emerald eyes, the fiery determination that she's never seen in them mixed with something else . . . fear? "Do you need any help? Maybe if you tell me what you're looking for I could try and find it." She offers.

"No thanks," He mutters; she's just grateful for a response.

"Are you hungry, I could bring up some dinner?" Now she's just grasping at straws, wandering through this new territory that is Spike's guilt with no guides or experience. Spike looks from the book up to Twilight and finally to the window near her, surprised to see the gray storm clouds hanging over Ponyville. Twilight is clearly worried about him, but in all honesty so was he. Spike returns to the book without giving an answer. Twilight's smart enough to get the hint, or so he hoped. "If you're looking for a good book I could grab one of my favorites?" Half of him is annoyed and just wants to be left alone, the other half says that she's just scared and playing the role of older sister. She walks around him, looking over his shoulder at the pages he's reading. "Dragons are known for their long lifespan, which tend to consist of long periods of isolation and –" Spike slams the book shut, his claws digging into the leather bound cover.

"Please leave me alone Twilight," He says, trying his best not to shout or project his anger on anything but the book in his hands, she's hurt nonetheless. The look on her face is unbearable to Spike and reminds him just how much of a dragon he's becoming. Anger is replaced with disappointment and self-loathing, actually the self-loathing has been there for awhile but it's now tripled. "Sorry," He mutters, ashamed. "I'd love dinner, if you don't mind grabbing it." This did a perfect job of erasing the hurt from her expression.

She nods and rushes downstairs, smiling as she went and giving him some time to think, gather and organize his thoughts. He struggles to pull his claws out of the book, hitting himself in the face when he finally gets free. The strike to the head gives him an altered view on things, like how useless it is to think these books can help him solve this problem and how desperate he has to be to have even thought that in the first place. Anger returns momentarily, and then comes the urge to cry in frustration.

He would have to if not for Twilight's swift return, two bowls levitating beside her. Last thing he needs is to wreck his masculinity by crying in front of her. "Topaz, your favorite." She says, pointing her horn to the ground. Actually she couldn't be more wrong, while topaz was fine it certainly was not his favorite, but the gesture is appreciated and he bites his tongue.

The bowls obey her command and set themselves down beside the young dragon. "Thank you." He says, unenthusiastically nibbling on a yellow gemstone. Twilight lies near him, digging into her salad and hay while looking over his pile of books. Spike knows this look, it's the one she gets when there's a puzzle present, and she has to solve it out of some compulsive need to know everything. It brings a smile to his face, only temporarily though.

"So . . . what's with all the books? You hardly ever read." She states, he'd be offended if it wasn't true. He can only think of one book he's ever actually read from cover to cover and it's not exactly Edgar Allen Poeny.

"I'm curious about some things." He says, being as vague as he can with Twilight, fully aware that she'd figure it out sooner or later.

"Some dragon things?" Spike nods, grabbing a handful of topazes from the bowl as well as another book from the pile. Twilight's mind is forming connections and running answers, fitting pieces together in record time. "You're scared about growing up." It's not a question or a guess, every part of her knows this is the answer, whether he admits it or not. Spike, amazed with how quickly she worked, sees no point in arguing with his roommate and nods, mouth filled with bits and pieces of topaz. "Spike, that's silly. You've still got so many years until you even start changing?"

Spike proceeds to show her the sharpness of his spines and fangs, avoiding the slight discoloration of his claws out of fear she'd assume he was paranoid. He recites the words Fluttershy used to describe dragons having memorized it word for word. "Someday I'll have to leave Equestria." Saying it out loud makes it feel worse, somehow makes it more real. Twilight, on the other hand, is surprised to see her assistant so afraid of the future. Earlier that morning he was concerned that Rarity wasn't going to notice his new cologne, now this? "I'll have to leave my friends behind." He mutters something under his breath, clearly embarrassed by whatever it is.

"What?" She asked, inching closer to him.

He's barely louder than before, but she's able to hear it. "I don't want to leave you," She's on the verge of tears because of this statement, realizing that this isn't one of his irrational fears like zombie ponies or clowns or even the frightening zombie clown pony. "I don't want to be alone." He continues, eyes watering and voice cracking, suddenly out of breath. Its complete silence in the house as Spike regains what little composure he has, feeling humiliated for showing such vulnerability in front of Twilight. He rubs at his eyes and shoves another gem into his mouth, glad to have an excuse to stop talking. Twilight is, in Spike's opinion, the smartest pony in all of Equestria, but only when it comes to books. Socially she is the most awkward creature ever known, which is everyponys opinion. Being this way she is clueless on what to say or how to act, Spike expects her to either make him feel worse or make herself look idiotic.

What happens next is quick and surprising, needless to say it is not what he expected.

She's hugging him. He's not sure if she used magic to bring him to her or if she jumped at him, or even if he ran to her himself. What he does know, however, is that he's enjoying the warmth of her open arms and fur pressing against his body. Spike breaks down and begins to cry, burying his face into her coat and sobbing. The thoughts of his unknown future, the fear of being alone and that sooner or later he'll never have the chance to laugh or play or cry with any of his friends ever again chewing away at him. He's embarrassed about crying in front of Twilight, but it quickly fades amongst his other thoughts.

They stay like this for four minutes, pressed against each other in near-silence. Spike occasionally whimpers something, but it comes out muffled against her body. The one thing she can understand, as well as being the word most repeated, is "alone". Twilight has a slightly better grip on her emotions and keeps from crying, but it's certainly not easy. Here was her friend . . . her assistant . . . her little brother torn up over a possibility that has little chance of happening. He could never just walk out of her life, never. A sudden flash of lightning and the sound of something crashing outside rob them of both the moment and the electricity. "Ugh . . . sorry." Spike mutters as they separate, wiping his eyes and clearing his throat. He's relieved that the lights are out, it keeps her from seeing him and how pathetic he believes he looks.

"Are you going to be okay?" She asked while waiting for her eyes to adjust, they don't get the chance though. With a small breath of fire, Spike ignites the tips of his claws on his left hand. Thick scales protect from any pain, he can't even feel the heat it's emitting. It nicely illuminates the area surrounding them in a shade of green, giving Twilight a brownish color. The mountain of books that he stacked had toppled over, leaving the floor a mess at least by a neat-freak like Twilight's standards. She could care less about whether or not the house was spotless, mind racing with possible solutions for Spike's problem.

"Not really, no." He says, deciding that there's really no point in masking the truth. "My head hurts, and every second it feels worse." Desperate to change the subject, Spike looks around for an excuse. "I'll go grab some candles, you stay here." He orders, walking down the stairs with the aid of his burning claws and leaving Twilight alone in the dark with her thoughts. She creates a small orb of light from her horn and begins to clean the room, finding peace and tranquility in the routine. No doubt Spike would want to keep reading, but she knows it will do nothing more than make him angry and stressed. Restacking the books in alphabetical order, she pushes them into a corner with faith in the out-of-sight out-of-mind rule. Spike will be upset, no doubt angry, but it's for the best.

Spike returns with four large green-flamed candles in one hand and a large number of what appear to be drastically thin books tucked under his arm. The orb of light Twilight conjured pops as Spike places three of the candles around the room, walking upstairs to the third level and putting the last one between their beds. He rushes back down and sets the books in front of the unicorn, not bothering to ask where all the previous books have gone because he already knows she moved them. He will drag them out of the corner when he gets the chance but until then he silently agrees, sure he'll make no real progress with what is basically his concerned older sister in the room and giving him all of her attention.

The room gives off a Halloween feel, or as Twilight has usually referred to it, Samhain. The eerie glow from the green flames mixing with the occasional flash of lightning and booms of thunder, this scene calls for a good murder mystery. The books Spike has brought up contradict this in every way imaginable, who is surprisingly smiling as he sits near her. It would be dramatically less surprising if she knew it was purely for her benefit. Twilight believes this is either very good . . . or very bad, but upon seeing the books laid out in front of her she gets swept up in nostalgia. "I found these covered in dust next to the candles. You read these to me a week after I hatched."

She doesn't need the reminder but is amazed that he remembers that himself, after all he had recently been hatched at that time and had either been asleep or hadn't appeared to be paying attention. These memories were the very first ones they shared and she could never forget them. Cartoon animals decorate the covers and none of them are longer than fifteen pages, each having only one or two rhyming sentences under illustrations. "I haven't seen these in years." She mutters, amazed.

"These aren't the same copies, but I'm sure you knew that." Spike's sure this'll distract her long enough for him to get farther in those history books, it was the only reason he brought up these filly novels in the first place. He rises off of the ground and slowly eases towards the corner, glancing out the window to see a black sky and flash of lightning.

"The happy little pony," She reads aloud, aware of his plan and making up her own. "The happy little pony jumps out of bed, laughing at the messy mane on her head." It's horribly cheesy, but Spike finds himself drifting down the same memories as Twilight. The fear in his mind quickly forgotten and replaced with images of Canterlot and a small nursery catering to newly hatched dragons, a young Twilight Sparkle leaning over his crib and smiling while making odd little baby-talk noises that could only be described as malformed Latin. "She slides on the floor and flew out the door." The rhymes were probably written by two year olds but it intrigues Spike nonetheless. He returns to Twilight's side and is shown the picture of a pony sliding across a shiny floor. This quickly reminds him of Pinkie Pie.

She continues to read to Spike, proud that her plan went off perfectly and that she knows him so well. Lying on his stomach with no open space between them, his arms are crossed in front of him with his chin pressed against them. He leans his head against her and listens as she continues to read story after story, momentarily at peace and relaxed. The pictures are all oddly colored thanks to the lighting of the candles around the room, but that takes none of the enjoyment out of the situation. Soon Twilight finds herself getting tired, sluggishly moving from page to page with Spike cuddled up against her. If she's lucky he'll fall asleep first, which seems unlikely considering his wide-eyed expression.

Unable to stay awake any longer, she stops reading and uses the book as a pillow. In the near silence she can hear Spike softly snoring amongst the sound of the rain patting against the glass. She doesn't dare wake him, the look on his face is far too precious for that. She falls asleep with a smile, glad that the day is finally over and hoping tomorrow would yield better results for Spike's research. Her blanket floats down from the stairs, ; it covers both of the sleeping creatures and provides warmth. The candles all blow out in unison, submerging the room in darkness.

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><p>Dreaming that he's in a cave surrounded by hundreds of thousands of gems, the walls surrounding him have the word 'monster' and 'alone' spray painted on in glowing white paint. <em>So much for symbolism! <em> The room echoes with the words on the walls, all speaking simultaneously and growing louder until he has to cover his ears. The voice . . . his voice . . . begins to screech and for a moment he's afraid his head will explode. The yelling suddenly stops, replaced with a sing-song tone of 'it's a choice' repeated over and over again. It begins to sound like Twilight.

He much preferred the straight approach this dream had originally taken.

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><p>"It's a choice, it's a choice, it's a choice!" She squeals, hopping up the stairs and towards the now wide awake dragon. Spike jumps to his feet and salutes, unsure as to why. He brings his arm down, rubs at his pounding, and gives Twilight a look that could melt ice. It's certainly not Fluttershy's infamous stare but he's pretty proud of it.<p>

She continues jumping in place, he finds it disorientating. "Wake up all of Ponyville why dontcha?" He groans, voice nowhere near as awake as the rest of him. "What are you screaming about anyway?"

"You!" She shouts, gaining yet another jump from her frightened assistant. "You can stay in Equestria if you want to!" More shouting, it'd be annoying if he wasn't so happy. A large smile spreads across his face, showing those two sharp fangs.

His hope is quickly replaced with disbelief, "How do you know?" He asked, hoping for the best but preparing for the worst.

"I tore up the library looking through books but I finally found it!" Twilight head back down stairs without another word, Spike, either confused of still not fully awake, moans and follows. By her standards 'tore up' will probably mean about ten or twelve books stacked in the center of the room, which is why Spike's jaw is nearly touching the floor when he reaches the first floor. Scrolls are littered amongst the floor, but they don't compare to all the books that have been pulled down from the now bare shelves and have actually formed small hills.

"I'm going to have to clean this up," He sighs, certain that in all this mess there has to be something related to him. Reaching the bottom of the steps he finds himself thankful for the slight growth in height, it makes it easier to trudge through this mess. Twilight stops near a coffee table, a dark brown book resting on its clean top, it looks out of place amongst the cluttered room. The pages are split almost perfectly down the middle, but he can somewhat make out the title, sadly it was not one of the many books he had gathered yesterday.

"You're a gemma dragon," He's looking over the images on the page and the weird font the text is written in. She's speaking in her lecturing tone, which she usually claims gives her confidence. "So no eating ponies in one bite, all you'll ever crave will be gems and herbs." He knew that, but coming from Twilight it's a fact. More information follows, some of it Spike already knows and some things he doesn't. A few words go over his head, but with each passing sentence he finds himself just a little happier. "Applying all this to the laws and regulations of Equestria, you would only have to leave if you intentionally cause somepony harm."

"It's a choice," He mumbles, biting his lower lip. "It's a choice!" He shouts, joyously laughing and grabbing Twilight's hooves, spinning in a circle. He nearly trips over the piles and piles of books on the floor but never enough to actually fall. "I love ya Twi!" Eventually she's leaning back on her hind legs, the only support coming from his outstretched arms holding her up. It's like they reached the finale of a romantic tango, neither sure how spinning in circles led to this. Spike blushes when he notices how close his face is to hers, "Sorry." He chuckles. Twilight quickly kisses his nose, giggling at how red his face turns.

"Glad to see you smiling again." She says, returning to a more comfortable stance. "Wish I knew it was that easy in the first place, could have saved us some time."

"Wait, if it's a choice then why are there so few dragons in Equestria?" She hadn't expected anymore questions, especially after that display of unrestrained happiness.

She never actually found the answer to that one, but she could use common sense to guess on this one. "Well they probably wanted to be with other dragons and start families of their own. Now let's clean this place up and get breakfast." He nods, content that for now things are the same; someday they won't be though, that's very far away and until then he has Twilight to keep him grounded in the present, no matter how cheesy or cliché it may sound.

He's grateful, that she'd tear up an entire floor over him and that she'd go through book after book after book just so he wouldn't be as afraid of the future. He clears his throat and prepares to voice it, to tell her how much she means to him. "One last thing, could . . . could you not mention this to anyone else. The crying thing might wreck my chances with Rarity." Not what he had in mind, but sooner or later he'll voice his appreciation and love, after all he's not going anywhere.

"Sure, why not." She says, snickering at the return of his regular behavior. "But some girls love emotional dragons."

"Really?"

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><p><strong>AN:** A bit of sibling fluff between Twilight and her number one assistant that seemed appropriate for the moment, I would like to say that – while Rarity/Spike is a nice match – I prefer the Twilight/Spike shipping, so if you get any hints of romance than . . . your probably right. Maybe my next tackle into MLP will be more romantic centered if anyone enjoyed this one.

Have a great night.


	2. Great Conversationalist

**Great Conversationalist **

**A warning for strict Rarity/Spike shippers, turn back now. A small Twilight/Spike story that actually doesn't have much Twilight, I wrote it quickly in a night because . . . well I felt like it and it seemed to work better short. Regardless this has moved into a romance genre, but it's not large enough to merit its own story, so consider yourself warned. **

**Yada yada Lauren Faust, yada yada Hasbro, yada yada two strike law.**

**Enjoy the shortness.**

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><p>At first all he felt towards the owl was animosity, it stemmed from a fear of being replaced. One cave misunderstanding and speech from Twilight later and he warmed up to the noctua, in retrospect running away may have been a bit melodramatic. Owlowiscious had immediately disappeared the very next night and remained unseen for long periods of time, usually only showing up for the colder Equestrian nights. Spike would have a bowl of pellets waiting beside the windowsill on these nights, prepared for the owl's arrival, which soon became clockwork and predictable. This night was no different, with Owlowiscious showing up at eleven on the dot, Spike leaning on a table with a lantern in his left hand.<p>

"Hey," Spike greets, closing the window to keep in the heat. Spike being awake while Twilight was asleep, it was so rare it belonged to the supernatural, but not tonight. Owlowiscious quickly digs his beak into the bowl, clearly starving. The dragon uses these nights to clear his mind of burdens, well a particular burden. "So . . . it's great to see you again." He stutters, it's always hard to get the conversation rolling but he manages. "You look good." Owlowiscious glares at him from over the bowl, drastically tilting his head to the left. Spike sets the lantern near the bowl of pellets, giving his arm a much needed rest. "Well . . . I think I've figured it out."

"_Really?" _He imagines the owl saying, which at first he considered odd but has grown to accept, much like the owl itself.

"Yeah, I can't pretend this doesn't exist, no matter how hard I try."

"_No, you can't." _He replies.

"But I'm sure they'll go away sooner or later." Spike claims, voice full of doubt. "I mean it happened with Rarity, it could happen with Twilight." Yes, these conversations always focused on that particular pony, though there are several subjects emerging from it. All those clichés, they were true, and while he could rant on and on about how he finds himself staring at her when she's not looking or how he always wants to be close to her he'd like to spare this owl all the minor details and just stick to the big picture.

"_If you really believe that than why are you down here with me and not upstairs in your cozy bed?" _This is followed by absolute silence, during which Spike acknowledges how sad this scene is.

"Well it's not like I have options here, either I tell her or I don't." He can already picture what would happen if he didn't keep his feelings bottled up, admittedly it is all pessimistic visions of the future. One instance has Twilight both firing him and kicking him out of the house, at which point he'll have to wander Equestria until his untimely demise at the hands of some unavoidable force. Granted this might be worst case material but it's still a possibility. On the brighter side of his mind is the small chance that things would work out and he'd get the feel-good movie ending, get the girl and all that nonsense. Sadly there are several reasons for that being labeled a 'small chance', even if one were to ignore the species and age difference.

He could easily swipe the age one though, after all he was a baby dragon, but in pony years he was . . . well he might actually be younger in that regard, now it seemed worse. "Why was it so much easier when I had a crush on Rarity?" He asked the owl.

"_Because it was only a crush." _Owlowiscious claimed, confusing Spike.

"And this is?" He leans closer to the bird, hoping all of his problems will be solved by whatever the owl has to say. He knows they won't be though, by the end of the night it'll still come down to two options, to tell or not.

"_Love." _It's rare that one word can have such a large meaning, but in this case it does. He could list a number of things he'd love; he'd love to be a colt, he'd love to tell Twilight everything, he'd love to . . . to . . . to just hold her close and never let go. These are the things that are only possible in dreams, and as far as he's concerned that's where they'll stay.

"Twilight says I don't stand a chance with Rarity, what's that supposed to tell me?" He asked, pushing away from the notion of love.

"_Jealousy, possibly."_

"In my dreams maybe." He laughs, and on the thought of dreams, "Thanks Owlowiscious, it was nice talking with you." Spike grabs the lantern and turns to the stairs, distraught over having made no true progress this night. "I'll see you soon." The light from the flames disappears as Spike ascends to the next level of the tree. Standing at the base of the second flight of stairs he blows out the lantern and places it against the wall. It's easy enough to walk up the eight steps to their room, and the one thing Ponyville has that Canterlot doesn't is starlight, which will be enough to guide him to his bed. Twilight is asleep in her bed, looking cozy and happy and all around peaceful.

His imagination runs wild with a braver version of him waking her up and passionately kissing her, but it'll never go that far. In fact he's certain it'll never leave his mind, unlike that secret crush he told Twilight and Pinkie Pie of. He stands there for what feels like forever but is actually only two minutes, just staring at her in what can only be described as fear. Not the first thing to come to mind admittedly, but it's there nonetheless.

He'd drag his feet on the way to his bed if the claws didn't scrape against the floor. If he's lucky he'll have more blissful dreams of an alternate reality where he and Twilight are more than friends, and if he's really lucky it'll come true someday. He's never been a big believer in luck though, and he's not willing to bet on a future where everything goes the way he wants it to. The night's filled with dreams that will be remembered long after he's awake.

Twilight's no longer snuggled up in her bed, which is neatly made with the edges of the blanket tucked under the mattress. A clock on the wall shows how late he is for work, which makes for a good jolt of energy. He rushes downstairs, tripping a few times but immediately regaining his balance. He nearly runs into Twilight, who's looking between a book and a scroll, a quill levitating over the latter. The pony greets him with a smile that melts his heart. "Did you sleep okay?"

_No._"Yes, I slept great." He lies, faking a yawn for her.

"Good, Owlowiscious was here and I didn't want to wake you." She explains as Spike walks towards the kitchen, craving gems for breakfast. "By the way, I know." She reveals, to vague for his comfort.

_That dirty little owl, he stabbed me in the back! _Spike believes, until realizing that the owl only had the capability to say one word and anything else was just his mind._ Calm down Spike, this is probably just one of those sitcom misunderstandings. _"About what?" He says, crossing his claws.

"That you put out food for him." He gives a sigh of relief from the kitchen out of Twilight's sight. "It was sweet of you." She loves him, it's in her voice and eyes. It's clearly not as much as he loves her, but it's enough.

For now anyway.

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><p>AN: Told you it was short, I'm proud to call it mine though.

Have a great night, and an even better Samhain (Halloween), hope it's as fun as you imagine.

See you soon,

E.

(Insert evil laugh, maybe some lightning in the background, hands rising from graves and all that)


	3. Cause and Effect

**Cause and Effect **

**A Spike/Twilight one-shot.**

**So . . . looks like it's the end, three chapters of a dragon, a pony, and a bond. Well, to quote a doctor (the ninth) "You were fantastic, absolutely fantastic. And you know what? So was I." Points if you understand the reference. This isn't me bragging about myself, this is a thank you to you who have read this far into this story. Whether you were here when this started or have just jumped in, or even if you're reading this long after it's faded into the archives of this section.**

**Thank you.**

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><p>Twilight Sparkle was known for hundreds of things: her gifted magic, a vast knowledge ranging from hundreds of thousands of subjects, having a dragon at her beck and call. The things that made her famous included her organization, compulsions, and utter lack of social knowledge. She could recite the square root of pi in two breaths, but the prospect of a pillow fight completely baffled her. She accounts and plans for everything, usually with a checklist; personality, known traits and routines, unexpected mishaps to expect. It makes her feel special and how she finds comfort, like she's putting pieces of the world together. It's also one of the many reasons he loves her, plus the smile . . . that wonderful smile she gets from her compulsions, it's so far beyond words.<p>

That little social knowledge brings relief to Spike, the only dragon in all of Ponyville as well as the only dragon in general that has ever dated outside of his own species. It protects Twilight from realizing just how weird ponies considers her for dating something with scales, and it keeps her from noticing the occasional look of disgust. A month ago he could only dream of a relationship with Twilight, now he's actuallt going on a date with her. This was never expected, they had never imagined being more than friends or for anything to develop, but it had. The world was a funny place in that sort of way, when two creatures spend so much time together it's only natural they'll form some kind of bond, this one just happened to transgress past friendship. This was what Spike used to justify the relationship, and he knew Twilight used it too.

Standing by the door, Spike eagerly waits for Twilight, smiling as he had been for the past two weeks. Nothing felt real, not the situation, not the room, not even the ground he was standing on; the entire world seemed imaginary in all regards. It's the oddest thing he's ever experienced . . . well actually it's a close second. He hears a step creak from pressure and nervously jumps a few feet in the air. Hit with a burst of energy, he looks over his appearance in the closest reflective surface; the floor. Nothing looks right, not his spines or his fangs, he can't decide if his claws are to sharp or to short. A second creak brings a hundred more problems with his appearance; another one makes him a horribly disfigured monster.

Last month, when the residents of Ponyville were preparing for the approaching winter, Twilight had noticed a dramatic change in her assistant. Having to wake up early would normally put him in a grumpy mood, but now he was at his happiest, especially on the days where – for the most part – it was just the two of them. Those secret glances he was giving her, the ones he thought went undetected, it was the same look he had previously reserved entirely for Rarity. Speaking of the fashionista, he was drastically less focused on her, barely acknowledging the unicorn when in her presence. Nope, all that attention was now going to Twilight, had been since Owlowiscious received the gift of a jewel encrusted bow-tie from Rarity. Spike's own gift disappeared around the same time, thrown away in anger or sadness or just plain lost, she'd never know.

All things considered, it was a surprise she hadn't figured it out sooner. At first she vowed to not speak of it, hoping that – like his crush on Rarity – it would disappear, after-all their relationship was that of a family, with her taking the role of a sister figure for the young dragon. Why risk losing that over something as unpredictable as love? But, as it typically tends to do, things changed.

Immediately Spike started to grow distant, making excuses to get out of the tree like running out of quills, in one day he used that excuse a total of three times. He believed that the less time he spent around her the quicker things would return to normal, with a little luck his attraction would just go away. This, however, had an opposite effect on Twilight, who began to realize that her feelings for the dragon may actually be mutual. The following week was filled with burning questions, mainly when and how did this happen. Sure, there was a tad bit of jealousy when he swooned over Rarity and a desire for the dragon to just once look at her in the same way; but that didn't mean anything, right?

Perhaps it was sooner, possibly back in Canterlot when it was regularly just the two of them in their dorm, supporting each other like the family they had unintentionally became, a family that was beginning to fall apart. Did this mean she was, contrary to the presented evidence, in love long before he was? Yes, it did. Twilight starts consulting books, reading half of the entire library in hopes that either their both under some weird spell or love has some scientific reasoning behind it. It's neither and she's left with confusion and a major migraine, along with the messiest house in all of Ponyville. Cleaning it up relaxes her though, that's something.

Twilight was feeling more isolated than ever, even on those quiet nights in Canterlot when the only friend she had was Spike. The library was silent with secrets of attraction, the dragon avoiding the unicorn in an attempt to maintain a relationship, ironically straining it in the process. Twilight, with a few suggestions and words of advice from her friends who had received a very vague explanation, takes a step back to look at the bigger picture. It comes as an embarrassingly large shock that the only reason she's losing her closest and dearest friend is because she doesn't want to risk losing him.

Irony is clearly not her friend, and maybe she'd have her I.Q. retested soon. Regardless of her current mental prowess and inability to notice something so obvious, Spike is far too important to her to just let him fade out of her life, and if she has to confess to some abnormal feelings of romance then that's what she'll do. Twilight writes out a speech and checklist of things she'll need including a schedule, some reference guides, and the dragon himself.

For the last couple of days he was out of the library early in the morning and back late in the evening, when he was certain Twilight was fast asleep in her bed. He'd do his chores and finish in just enough time to catch a little under an hour of sleep before waking up and disappearing to start the whole thing over. There was a word for this, he remembered Twilight had read it to him not so long ago; fight-or-flight? That sounded right, except there was no fighting in this scenario, it was more like confess-or-flight.

It's killing him physically and draining him mentally, leaving less than a shell of a dragon that drifted between consciousness while walking about the town. Aimlessly wandering around was pretty boring and served no purpose, though he was looking pretty thin, a small plus in a vast sea of negatives. An auto-pilot like state occurred every half hour that led him back to the library; it always went unnoticed until his claws were wrapped around the brass doorknob. He'd instantly recoil in fright and turn back around, the only evidence being the footprints he left in the newly fallen snow.

He was tired and no longer dedicated to this plan, luckily Twilight had no idea of his feelings and things could just return to normal. Mostly anyway, obviously he remained unchanged, but he'd rather secretly pine for the mare and stay her friend than to continue on this path and drift farther apart. Besides who'd be there to wake her up every morning, or to cook her breakfast just the way she likes it, to tease her lovingly or to listen as she goes on and on about the wonders of whatever four subjects currently interest her.

Any belief he had that this crush would fade was immediately erased, in its place came frustration that he had thought he'd already worked through. The urge to cry and shout is ever-present, often varying from manageable to unbearable. Even after he's returned to the library and resumed his duty as personal assistant it remains in the back of his head, continuously whispering for the dragon to act on any of his emotions. Sooner or later that whisper will turn into shouting, and if he's lucky it'll drive him crazy enough to forget the concept of love.

"Spike, we need to talk." Twilight says one chilly morning.

"About what Twi?" He asked, the aforementioned voice in his head whispering that this was far more important than he could realize.

"Spike, I'm . . ." Her horn begins to glow as she looks down at one of about a dozen index cards floating in front of her, prepared to give a speech that she had written late last night. She clears her throat, "I'm here today to talk about . . ." In retrospect she wished she'd taken a different approach to writing this thing, it sounded more like a lecture than a personal confession of strong emotions. "To talk about the feelings you have for me." At this word Spike's smile is replaced with a look of pure and unrestrained terror, his left eye twitching. Sometimes he truly hates his imagination, case-in-point how it was giving him a picture of what comes next. Would she give him the hoof out, ask for a new assistant, tell him what a weirdo he is for having these feeling for her? Hell, she could do all three if she wanted to.

The voice in his head has abandoned him, taking all coherent thoughts with it.

There are thousands of possible scenarios that can happen from this one minute, his entire world could fall down around him with just a single sentence. It's overwhelming, the sheer amount of possibilities. What's even more mind boggling is that, through all its complications, it counts solely on this. Spike's never been a realist, but Twilight having even a remote shred of attraction towards him was limited to his wildest dreams, so it was probably a good idea to pack his bag and catch the next ride to Canterlot.

Was it just him, or was Twilight taking an extremely long time to drive the figurative sword through his chest and break his heart. Seriously, he's had a monologue of thoughts while hanging by a thread. Maybe his concept of time was off, or maybe Twilight was getting some kind of amusement out of this. "And how I feel the same way."

Well that's certainly unexpected, in fact he's almost positive their not on the same page. "You . . . um . . . sure you know what you're saying?" He asked, nervously twisting his tail in his claws, unaware of doing so. He wants to be absolutely certain that this isn't some trick of the mind.

"I'm in love with you, yes." The answer makes his heart stop. He's amazed with how natural she sounded, as if she were commenting simply on the weather. "Now I've compiled a list of pros and cons that we'll sort through, by my calculation we should finish around seven tonight, unless we skip all meals." Now he's amused, had she actually managed to incorporate love into scientific research? It's amazing, it's stupefying, it's . . . a little creepy.

"Twi?" He releases his tail, and if it wasn't for the high level of pure happiness he probably would've noticed the lack of feeling in it.

"We'll start with the cons, obvious ones like species and age." A stack of papers lands directly between them, towering above the dragon and blocking his view of the unicorn.

"Twilight," He repeats, somewhat annoyed.

"Now while you are a baby dragon, you're around my age in pony years, which I believe ends that one easily."

"Twilight Sparkle!" He shouts.

"Yes Spike?" She had barely noticed.

"Could you just . . . I don't know, be happy about this?"

"Not yet Spike."

"Why not?"

"Because I need to figure out what we do next." He scoffs at this, but it's actually a very good question. It's not like either of them has ever gotten this far into a relationship. " There has to be some reason behind this better than it just happened."

The voice in his head is back in ten-fold and he begins to repeat everything its shouting. "There are hundreds of reasons Twi; you're smart, beautiful, and to put it bluntly you're a little crazy." He waits to see if she's offended but instead she's blushing from the compliments. "You really can't . . ." Twilight's stubborn, not as much as Rainbow Dash or Applejack but it's certainly up there, so there truly is no point in arguing with her. She needs to make sense of this somehow, and this method is how she'll try and do it, though she'll never get anywhere. It's one of the many reasons he loves her, and if being with her means spending an entire day of writing and reading then he's prepared for the biggest claw cramp in the world. At a price however, deemed by the voice that he hopes will soon disappear. "Fine, but could we . . . well . . . if you don't mind . . ." This continues for a minute, the twisting of his tail returns.

"The sooner you tell me the sooner –"

Every thought is urging him to back out now and forget about the request, and if he was a smarter dragon he would probably have listened. "Kiss!" He blurts, his purple scales gaining a hue of red, she's blushing as well. "It's just I've wanted to know what it's like, you know?" It's a miracle his mouth hasn't dried out. She had been curious about this since reading a guide to dating, which was most likely in the pile of books blocking the door and did not cover interspecies romance, obviously. "I mean . . . you know . . . if you don't–"

Immediately Twilight is inches from him, her face was much closer. It takes him a few seconds to realize that they are in fact kissing, at which point his eyes close and he leans towards her. It lasted a total of thirty seven seconds, but for them it felt much longer. Odd sight, a pony and dragon committing such an act, but for what it's worth Twilight forgets all about her need for research. This was new and confusing, and it was weird if she truly focused on all of their differences, but it was nice and for the first time since this whole mess she and her mind were at ease. When they regain personal space Spike's at a loss of words. It seemed like only yesterday this was impossible outside of dreams, in fact this was beyond the dreamscape as well.

Everything just screams unreal, a feeling of numbness accompanying it. "W–wow, just . . . wow." He's at a total loss of words, surprised by how nice it felt. If there was more of this in the future than forget the claw cramp, just take the claw. Twilight is also speechless, which is either very good or very bad. "That was . . . nice?" He's looking for confirmation from the unicorn.

"Certainly different, but enjoyable. I'm sure we'll get used to it." She smiles, putting him at ease. "So what do we do now?"

"You said we should start with the cons." He crosses his legs on the floor near the numerous books.

"Huh," She mutters, clearly she had lost her train of thought. Spike taps a sharp claw on the scrolls. "Oh yeah . . . right." Now she's blushing, embarrassed for something he truly doesn't understand.

* * *

><p>Twilight walks down the stairs, her hooves in bright yellow boots, a striped scarf of white and pink wrapped around her neck. He's seen that outfit thousands of times in his life, but it feels new for some odd reason. "Holy guacamole, you look . . . great!" He says, mouth hanging open. All the problems he had with his appearance are completely forgotten, replaced by thousands of compliments he can give her that he honestly means.<p>

"It's a scarf Spike; you've seen hundreds of them." Twilight laughs, approaching her assistant. "'Are you sure you don't need anything, it's pretty cold outside?"

"Positive." Spike states, holding the door open for the mare. The outside is covered in a blanket of snow, the sun was nowhere to be seen. There are few ponies outside, all of them bracing their shops and homes for the harsh weather to follow. Spike closes the door and walks beside Twilight, as he usually does. The glares they receive have significantly decreased over the past few days, hopefully from acceptance but chances are their just old news. It seems they've gotten through things unharmed, with relatively no name calling or hatred. Their still working through a few things, like maintaining the assistant-boss relationship in working situations, or more tender ones like what'll happen when Spike's not so little.

But tonight's different, it's a night reserved entirely for happy thoughts and warm memories. Push the fear of the future into the darkest corner of his subconscious and let it wait, until then he has a dinner and movie plan with a unicorn, who's clearly just as nervous about this as he is. Sure they get an occasional look of disgust, a whispered insult behind their back or the less subtle ones that are said to their faces. Rainbow Dash and Applejack are constantly giving threats to those who insult the couple, as they will always do. At some point all notions of awkwardness disappear and what remains is comfort and pure happiness.

* * *

><p>Quiet nights were rare in the library, the statement had a humorous level of irony in it but it was true. Spike moves from the stairs to the bed directly on the other side of the room, stepping over a few books along the way. For once in his life he is the very model of silence, able to climb into the bed without waking his sleeping spouse a mere inch away. For a few moments Spike just lays beside her, letting the unfamiliar quiet sink in. The window to his left softly illuminates the room, the light from a pale moon assisted by thousands of stars. Twilight always said that this window had some sort of magic to it, not the kind she could perform. The way it captured Sugar Cube Corner, Sweet Apple Acres, and Carousel Boutique was unexplained, but beautiful.<p>

It relaxes him, giving him some time with his thoughts. Has there been a word for reminiscing about a time when you were having a flashback? If not then there should be because that's exactly what Spike is doing at this moment. The stormy night Twilight had brought him comfort, it felt like forever ago, or at least ten years; when life was simple and they were young, when relationships formed and crumbled, or when dreams never quite took off. Life had changed now, things became complicated and the world changed from simple childhood notions of right and wrong to occasionally bleak and heavy.

But a lot of things never changed; Pinkie Pie was still a party animal, Fluttershy still meek and quiet. The gang was still together and going strong, not to say there hadn't been a few ups and downs along the way or that they never felt like they were drowning. They were still in Ponyville, and often they would meet up at Sugar Cube Corner. Rainbow would brag about her celebrity status as a Wonderbolt, Rarity would speak of the latest fashion trends she was setting, Applejack talks of the farm and hardships that come with it, Fluttershy would always just listen and nod while occasionally giving her two cents.

Spike's a writer, which surprises no one, taking inspiration from the adventures they shared. He's been on the bestseller list for what feels like ages and won a few awards over the years. He's still madly in love with Twilight Sparkle, which is a great thing considering the marriage and child that's come out of the relationship. Getting married was the hardest thing he ever had to deal with, not to say he has commitment issues, but the first ever interspecies marriage was no simple matter. Under normal circumstances they would never have been allowed to join in marital unity, but Princess Celestia was able to pull enough strings and make a special exception for her prized pupil, just barely. It was worth every headache and he's proud to have Sparkle as a last name, besides Twilight the dragon did not make any sense.

Spike Sparkle did have a nice ring to it as well.

Honestly he's never felt so lucky, especially since he became a father. He and Twilight had been worried that their beautiful little pony-dragon would be teased over her crossed species, it was the stuff of nightmares. Luckily she looked more like her mother every day, which kept her from being a laughing stock. Eltanin Sparkle, her name taken from the brightest star in the Draco constellation. She complains about how weird it is and insists on being called Ellie. Everypony enjoys teasing her about it, quite often.

She had taken a few things from her father, like her claws or the arrowhead tip of her tail, and even a few spines running down her back. Her sense of humor was one hundred percent dragon as well, but her mental capacity was happily taken from Twilight. Ellie also had a few compulsions, but to a less sever extent than her mother. Watching her learn about life the way they had was such a large reward and in his opinion they were doing a great job as parents. She was fast asleep on the level below them, tucked gently into her bed.

Twilight was a teacher at the schoolhouse, it certainly was not expected. Everpony assumed she would take up the throne over Equestria, being the pupil to the very princess. That plan ended the day she found she would have to move from Ponyville and would have very little time for friends or relationships, talk about a deal breaker. She denied the offer from Celestia and remained in the library, with her best friends close by, it'll never change. Spike and Twilight are the near perfect couple; sure, complications in the relationship arose from time to time, from the typical things like how to raise Eltanin to the odder, cross-species marital problems that only they could truly experience, but they would always work through it.

One night, ten years ago, when rain was falling and fears were rising inside of him, when he believed in a future where he'd have to abandon everything he loved and live the life of a dragon in some faraway place. It seemed ridiculous now, the fear of outliving everypony or being too big to fit into the library. It seems he struck gold in being the weakest type of dragon, with the size and lifespan of a healthy colt. So what more is there to say? Maybe this is where his story ends, with him happy and content, surrounded by his family and friends.

But now he can help his daughter with her story, what more can a father ask for?

* * *

><p>I'm just a sucker for a happy ending, and if it comes off a little cheesy than I apologize. So I guess this is the end of the story, well it had to happen sometime but who knows, maybe Ellie will get a small little ficlet for herself tagged onto this. It can't be easy to be a dragon unicorn mix, but from a mental image she looks pretty awesome. I wish I had some drawing capability but sadly I have zilch in that department. Or maybe I'll do a Doctor WhoovesDerpy romance, who knows?

Goodnight.

E1


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